by Jade Lee
His sister smiled. “My living is adequate as well.” She grinned. “And I have no wish to leave Shanghai.” Her smile shifted to the white captain who turned to Zhi-Gang.
“Little Pearl and I are married as well—”
“In secret!” Little Pearl shot out. “Tell no one!”
Captain Jonas nodded and wrapped a large arm around his wife’s shoulders. “She fears retribution,” he said, “but it is possible. We have been very happy.”
Little Pearl frowned, pretending to struggle against his all-encompassing arm then settling tight against his side with a happy sigh.
Beside Zhi-Gang, Anna made a soft sound of distress. “Our marriage is a fiction,” she whispered, her voice growing in strength. “We pretend to it so that we can destroy an opium king.” Then she looked at the couple before her. “I wish you the best of success. But then, I believe you already have that.” So saying, she pulled away from Zhi-Gang and headed to the front garden.
Little Pearl grabbed his arm and drew him back, her words audible despite her low tone. “Stupid brother! Let her go.”
“But… Anna!” he called just as she slipped out of the room.
Anna made it to the front garden, her progress made all the harder as her vision was washed with tears. Stupid, stupid, stupid, to cry now when all was within her grasp. With Zhi-Gang’s help she would not only end the evil propagated by her adoptive father, but she would finally be able to leave for England and the glorious reunion with her family. Except, it was all a lie. Her family in England didn’t want her. Zhi-Gang didn’t want her.
“Watch out!” Captain Jonas’s voice rang clearly, but it was too late. Anna stumbled on a broken tile and crumpled to the ground.
He was beside her in a moment, though not before she had scraped her hands in the stony dirt and ripped her skirt at the seam.
“Come, come,” he said in a surprisingly fatherly tone. “There’s a bench here. I’ve told them to replace that walkway, but the gardeners do what they want sometimes and don’t listen to the white man.” He guided her to the bench, then stood back, his hands shoved awkwardly in his pockets. “For all that money talks, this is still a foreign land. Little Pearl rules the roost, and I’m just the hairy ape who hangs around.”
“Not to me,” she murmured. She looked up, if not all the way to his face. She couldn’t manage to meet his eyes just yet, so she stared at a spot over his right shoulder.
“I beg your pardon?”
She took a breath and put a little more volume in her voice. “This isn’t a foreign land to me. I was born here. I’ve never known anyplace but China.”
“I see.”
“But Zhi-Gang’s going to send me to England,” she added in a rush. “I have family there.”
“Oh. Good. Good.” Jonas’s voice trailed away, and an awkward silence descended. After a bit, he spoke up again. “I have a ship. Foundered for a while. A long while, actually, but she’s in port now and being stocked as we speak. Fred’s a good man and a good captain. He’ll look after you, if you like.”
She blinked, her gaze finally meeting his. “I don’t understand.”
He smiled warmly down at her. “I am offering a berth on The Auspicious Wind when it sails back to England in two days. Would you like it?”
She hesitated, her thoughts spinning. “I have money saved. I could start fresh in England.” She looked at him. He seemed honest enough, but she didn’t trust anyone anymore.
He smiled, as if sensing her thoughts. “I’ll send a note to Fred. The ship leaves in two days. You can board anytime before then.”
She didn’t understand at first. Then her eyes widened. “Now? As in right now?” Without Zhi-Gang. She could escape. She could leave China. She could get everything she wanted right then.
She glanced back to the interior of the house. Zhi-Gang didn’t need her to meet with her adopted father. She had absolute faith that the Enforcer would do his duty for China and destroy the man who had so used her for the past decade. She would have her revenge and could begin her new life all in one quick and very safe stroke of luck. All that was needed was for her to act now without hesitation. She could seize her future with both hands and never, ever look back. Could she do it? Yes!
She pushed to her feet.
Except, she didn’t turn toward the front gate. Her feet turned, but her head twisted the other way. She was looking back. She was thinking of Zhi-Gang and of leaving him forever. She was thinking about Little Pearl and Captain Jonas. How could a girl prostitute end up happily with a white ship captain? She wanted to know; she wanted to believe such miracles did occur. How would she ever learn the story if she left?
She stood still, poised with indecision. What to do? And in that moment, the possibility was lost. Zhi-Gang came out of the house, his gaze trapping her in place as securely as steel chains.
“Anna, are you well? You left so quickly.”
She swallowed and nodded, wondering how to explain. “Everything is happening so fast,” she said honestly. “I just needed time to think.”
He glanced behind him as Little Pearl stood in the doorway. “We need to go back to the Ting… home. The special customers could arrive at any moment.”
“For whom do you search?” Little Pearl asked. “Governor, viceroy, or businessman? Madame Ting’s Garden caters to the most exclusive customers and they must be handled with care.”
Zhi-Gang turned, his face changing color. As if they were words on parchment, Anna could read exactly what emotions were flowing through his mind. He and his sister had been talking about their past history, their brothers and parents. He had almost forgotten that she had been forced to be a whore. Now she brought that understanding back, and he had trouble accepting.
Anna stepped forward, speaking without any thought beyond giving him time to adjust. “We are looking to end a drug route into China. Samuel Fitzpatrick is the kingpin we—”
“A right bastard, he is,” Captain Jonas muttered.
“That, too,” Anna concurred. “But to kill a serpent—”
“You have to cut off its head,” Zhi-Gang finished. His gaze focused on his sister. “What do you know of him?”
Little Pearl shook her head. “Nothing firsthand. It has been many years since I was slave to Madame Ting.” Then she smiled. “But I know he likes variety: anything new or different. He enjoys all the new girls, tries any new device or perversion, even searches the world over for something unusual.” Her gaze sharpened. “Tempt him with something no one has ever done, and he will risk a great deal.”
“His life?” Anna pushed. “Will he risk his life?”
Little Pearl shrugged. “Twenty years ago, certainly. Now? In middle age, a man thinks a great deal of his health.”
Zhi-Gang nodded, his manner once again that of the Enforcer. “Then we will give him something else to think about.”
Anna glanced at his face, wondering what he meant. But the moment slipped away before she could understand, and all too soon, Zhi-Gang took her hand in his to lead her out of the garden to the carriage.
“Come back soon, brother,” Little Pearl called before they reached the gate.
Zhi-Gang turned, and his gaze caught and held his sister’s in a long, silent communication. Then he bowed in a deep show of respect. “It would be my greatest honor to visit with you again.”
Anna watched from just behind him, feeling a moment of joy at the obvious accord between brother and sister. She knew just how important that was to Zhi-Gang. But then her sight caught on the captain’s. She looked over Zhi-Gang’s shoulder to see the white man frown in concern.
He opened his mouth to speak, but she shook her head, stopping his words. She already knew what he offered, and with her gaze she answered. Yes, she would take the berth he offered. In two days, she would board The Auspicious Wind and finally set sail for England. In two days. But not now.
“Until then,” she said.
He nodded in understanding. And then there
was no more communication at all as Zhi-Gang drew her out the gate. They climbed into the carriage in silence and rode out of Chinese Shanghai.
Finally, Anna could stand the quiet no more. “What is your plan?” She didn’t know if she was speaking to the Enforcer or to Zhi-Gang, her lover. Either would be fine, so long as one answered.
In the gloom, she could barely make out his form as he turned to stare at her. “What were you speaking about with the white captain?”
She swallowed, strangely nervous. “Captain Jonas? Nothing. Why?”
A muscle in his cheek twitched. It was a small movement, only discernable because his face was turned at the right angle for the light. So she saw him twitch and knew that he suspected. But how to answer?
“You want honesty between us,” she said, forcing herself to think before she spoke. But the words poured out despite her best intention. “You have reconciled with your sister. Does that change your plans?”
He reached out and abruptly pushed open the curtains so that the afternoon sunlight poured into the carriage. Apparently he, too, wanted to see her more clearly. Then he turned, his expression tight. “Why would that change anything?”
She sighed. Why did men never understand that all things were related, one to another? “When you set out from Peking, your plan was to find your sister, yes?”
He nodded.
“And you have found her. She is well and happy and better than you could have hoped possible.”
“Yes, yes,” he said, irritation lacing his voice. “But what does that—”
“So you have accomplished your goal. Do you still intend to meet with Samuel?”
“We are in the carriage, are we not? We are heading to the brothel, are we not? My duty to China has not changed. The man who engineered this trade—opium for girls—that man must pay for his crimes.”
She nodded, unsure why they were arguing, uncertain what to do to repair the breach between them. She didn’t even know where it had appeared or how.
“I have searched for my sister for years. I studied every whore, every addict, hoping and fearing to find her. And now that I can finally speak to her, to redeem all that was lost between us…” His voice trailed away.
“What?” Anna demanded. “What went wrong?”
He looked at her, his eyes hard with anger. “You,” he accused. “You left and I could think of nothing else. Only that you were not with me.”
She stared at him, unsure what to think. He seemed so angry, and she did not know how to explain her feelings. “They are so happy together—your sister and her captain. I… it was hard… I couldn’t…” She sighed. “They have everything I want, Zhi-Gang. I couldn’t stay there and see it without wanting it, too.”
“So you ran away.”
She nodded. “It is what runners do.”
“No more!” he snapped. “You do not run opium anymore.”
“No, I don’t. But I don’t know what to do now, Zhi-Gang.”
He pressed his lips together, saying nothing. And once again Anna felt her hopes die. If only he would try, if only he would ask her to stay, then she would do it. She would remain with him for as long as possible. But he didn’t want her. And truthfully, she could not blame him. Who would want a drug addict as a wife? And for all his scoffing about doing as he willed before his family and Empress, she knew a white wife would destroy any political ambitions. No mandarin truly had a white wife.
“The white captain offered you a berth on his boat.” Zhi-Gang’s voice was a harsh rasp.
“Yes,” she answered. “I told him yes, that I would leave on his boat in two days—after all is resolved between us.”
He frowned, his gaze leaping back to hers. “Resolved?”
She understood his confusion. She even shared it. It seemed as if nothing would ever be resolved between them. They had started too badly, there were too many lies between them. And yet, it did not prevent her from hoping for a solution.
“What do you want, Zhi-Gang? Do you ask me to stay in China? For what? Do you ask me to give up my family in England? Why? What are you planning?”
He looked at her in silence, his expression unreadable, his heart and mind closed off from her. When he spoke, it was in a distant way, and yet she wondered if his words were closer to his heart than he intended. “I plan to be with you tonight. I plan to kill your adopted father when I next see him. And I plan…”
His voice faded, but she wouldn’t let him stop. She needed to know, so she leaned forward and dared to touch his clenched fists where they rested on top of his thighs. “What, Zhi-Gang?”
“To send you to England.” His gaze dropped to where they touched. “White people belong in their own country, and a woman belongs with her family. There is no other option.” So saying, he removed his hands from beneath hers.
Samuel had not yet visited. Nor had he sent word to reserve a girl for his pleasure. According to Yi-Li, the most senior “flower” in the garden, it wasn’t unusual for the man to miss a night or two. Apparently, Samuel liked to keep Halfy waiting. But Zhi-Gang wasn’t predisposed to patience. Not when everything—all his hopes and his plans—depended on finishing things with the white bastard.
He paced the tiny confines of Halfy’s office while both Anna and Yi-Li watched with dark, silent expressions. In the end, he settled on the simplest lure of all. He began a rumor.
“Whisper to the customers of a secret girl. A technique imported from the Peking Tigresses. Tell them about a new flower who will sell for a thousand yuen a night.”
Yi-Li’s eyes widened at the amount, even as her gaze cut to Anna. But she knew better than to question. Instead, she bowed to them both before scurrying away.
Anna sighed. “He will know that you lie.”
“It’s not a lie,” he said quietly. “Did I not tell you I was a darling of the Forbidden City? There is much that bored concubines will teach an enterprising young man.”
He watched closely as Anna’s gaze dropped away from his to look out of Halfy’s office door. She had no interest in what was in the hallway; she was simply trying to hide her thoughts. But that he could not allow.
He stepped up to her, cupping her chin with the gentlest of touches. She looked up at him easily, but it took longer for her eyes to lose their wary anxiety. And the fluttering pulse beneath his fingers never truly steadied.
“Do you know what a tigress is?”
She blinked. “A large cat?”
He smiled, startled the gesture came easily. “Yes. It is also a woman who has studied the way of the tigress. It is similar to Tantric Buddhism from India.”
There was no understanding in her gaze, and so he continued, wishing he had the words to make her see. “You heard what my sister said. You know she teaches a way to reach Heaven through sexual congress.”
Anna frowned. “You don’t really believe her, do you?”
He shrugged. “It is taught in Peking and here. It is about energy, about stimulating a person’s energy enough to talk with angels.” He paused, weighing his next words. “You saw her beauty, her serenity. Do you not want that for yourself? Forgiveness, Anna. And peace.” He hungered for it.
“But through sex?” He could see the disbelief in her eyes, and he shared her doubt. But he had been taught the techniques as an adolescent, and he understood the theory behind the practice.
Anna pulled away from his touch, but he pursued her, stroking his hand down her arm. “Samuel will visit tomorrow. We can end this all tomorrow. But in the meantime, I wish to try something with you.” He took a deep breath. “My sister believes you whites have something special, something that makes the transition to Heaven easier. She knows of three couples—all Chinese with a white partner—who have made the ascent.”
“You cannot think that this is true,” she said, but in her eyes he read curiosity.
He sighed and let his hand fall away. “I have questions,” he said. “I would like to talk to the angels. I would like answers.”
She threw up her hands. “I would, too—but through sex? You cannot be serious.”
“I know the techniques. It is supposedly about intention.” He caught her gaze. “And the willingness to try.”
“Why?” she pressed. “What do you want to know? What is so important—”
He cut off her words with his mouth. He was across the room and pressing his lips to hers before either of them realized. Once met, their mouths fused, mated, and set their hearts to beating in sync.
He slowly drew away, saying, “We are matched, Anna. You fire my blood more than any woman ever has. When I look at you, my breath quickens. When I touch you, my heart beats with the same tempo as yours. When we join, you and I—”
“We will not go to Heaven,” she said.
“We have not tried.”
Her gaze moved as she searched his face. “You have a reason for this,” she said. “What is the purpose? What do you want?”
He shook his head, finding it difficult to verbalize what he hoped. “I want to ask the angels for a path. For my path.” To see if she was his path.
Anna stared at him. “But you have always chosen your own path. You are the Enforcer. You were the darling of the Forbidden City. You have chosen all that you are.”
He nodded, unable to deny it. And yet, he was also not proud of his choices. Perhaps it was time to choose something else, to allow the angels to guide him. His own choices had brought him little but blood and pain.
“Will you help me?” he asked.
She nodded without hesitation, though he could tell she did not believe.
“We have one night,” he said. “Whatever can be done in that time—”
